Jazz News (Dec. 2018)
Charlie Anderson rounds up the latest jazz news. Gladys Knight, Jamie Cullum and Snarky Parky are the first artists to be announced for the next Love Supreme Festival, to be held at Glynde Place on the weekend of 5th-7th July, 2019. Georgia-born Gladys Knight, known as the Empress of Soul, rose to stardom with […]
Helena Kay Interview
Scottish saxophonist Helena Kay won the Young Scottish Jazz Musician of the Year in 2015 and talks to Charlie Anderson about her debut album, Moon Palace. What inspired you to play the saxophone? I started on piano because my dad and grandad played, then violin because that is what was offered at my primary […]
Jonny Mansfield Interview
Vibraphonist Jonny Mansfield grew up in the village of Shepley, near Huddersfield in a musical household. “Both of my parents are musical, they’re peripatetic music teachers for Kirklees and Rotherham Music Services. My mum plays oboe and my dad plays bass trombone. I’ve got two older brothers, the oldest plays trombone and the middle one […]
Hilary Burt Interview
How would you describe the music of ‘Hilary Burt’s Blue Calluna’? My compositions come from a knowledge of jazz and jazz harmony but my writing also has elements of latin, funk and folk. I decided that the most accurate genre is ‘jazz-folk’ but even that doesn’t fit many of my tunes. I never think about […]
Words…Charlie Anderson
My earliest memory of hearing jazz was around the age of 6. It was a memorable sound, very distinctive. It was Count Basie. My dad took me to jazz gigs and festivals from when I was a toddler. He’d regularly take me to a pub called The Goat in St. Albans which had jazz […]
Big Band Scene (Dec. 2018)
Nationally and internationally, 2018 has been an unsettling year. Locally, on the Sussex big band front, it has been a year of mixed fortunes. There have been slightly fewer live performances, accounted for, to some extent, by the loss of two residencies. But still averaging more than ten a month, the scene remains quite healthy. […]
Pete Recommends…The Wardell Gray Story
Wardell Gray The Wardell Gray Story [Properbox 55] In the 1950s two of my friends formed an excellent traditional jazz quintet. They played clarinet and soprano sax respectively. Soon they began listening to Lester Young. Both were tempted to take up the tenor sax, but held back. Then they heard Wardell Gray. Lester plus […]
Live Review: Binker Golding Band at The Verdict
New Generation Jazz: Binker Golding Band The Verdict, Brighton Friday 26th October, 2018 Saxophonist Binker Golding is probably best known for his duo work in Binker and Moses, as well as his sideman role with the likes of Zara McFarlane and Mr Jukes. Fronting his own band, he performed compositions from his forthcoming album Abstractions of […]
Live Review: Sons of Kemet at Komedia
Sons of Kemet Komedia, Brighton Tuesday 30th October, 2018 There is already a sense of excitement in the air as opener Vels Trio’s drummer Dougal Taylor brings their set of elegantly hip Hancock-esque minimal fusion to a simmering boil. This gig in the low-ceilinged Komedia basement sold out long ago – evidence of a […]
Live Review: Lorraine Baker’s Eden at The Brunswick
Lorraine Baker’s Eden The Brunswick, Hove Sunday 7th November, 2018 Lorraine Baker recorded one of the season’s freshest sounding releases with her Eden project, dedicated to exploring the unique legacy of maverick New Orleans drum supremo Ed Blackwell. As Blackwell was a relatively infrequent composer, she’s picked selections from the back catalogue of his […]